The Birth of Boxing
The Birth of Boxing Boxing is one of the most physical sports in the world. It’s a sport where two people punch each other while wearing protective gloves for a predetermined set of time. It’s a very demanding sport and it’s not for everyone. You need speed, footwork, toughness, and heart. These are all traits that were possessed by the father of boxing; Michael Borden. Michael Borden was born in San Diego, California on April 3rd, 1982 to Jack and Bertha Borden. Jack Borden was a plumber for a local plumbing company and Bertha was an elementary school teacher. Growing up, Michael was a quiet boy though he always seemed like the leader of a pack. He was brave and smart. His friends called him “the ringleader”. He always liked being physical with his friends and eventually started a fight club with the local neighborhood kids. Michael’s parents knew that he was a kid who was interested combat sports and that his idol was Bruce Lee. During this time of his life when he set up the fight club, the fights would take place in his friend Jimmy’s garage. The garage was very crammed and evenly shaped like a box, which draws inspiration to the name of the sport. When people participated in fight club, no one was to speak of fight club to avoid attention and punishment from other parents. All the participants would meet late at night when most people would be sleeping which made it easier to set up the fight club. The club met a couple times during the week. The fights were very gruesome. Michael would practice certain stances to set himself during a fight and everyone would try to replicate or come up with their own. Everyone would mainly aim for their opponents head during a fight. There was no time limit. People would have to acknowledge defeat or simply not continue to fight. There was nothing to protect their hands. People would fracture bones and bleed easily. Hands would be bruised and swollen by the end of a fight. Eventually, Michael created his own hand wraps by ripping his shirts and wrapping his hands to protect himself and the other fighters. With all the damage the fighters would have after the fights, it was hard to keep the fight club a secret. This eventually led to creating more ways of protection like head and mouth gear. The fight club became so popular and it was hard to keep hidden. This drew attention to television and radio stations and it quickly became popular throughout the country. It was very entertaining and demanding. People would be inspired by the idea of boxing and gave praise to Michael for creating an exciting sport. The sport was so popular, that the president of the United States awarded Michael with a statue that was placed next to the statue of liberty. Boxing paved the way for other forms of combat sports such as jujitsu, wrestling, and kickboxing. Today, people don’t know what their lives would be like if boxing weren’t created.